DJ Tanner, Frontier Mom
by Me
Summary: D.J. gets Danny's blessing to start using timeout w/2/25YO Michelle. Later, a Gumby incident inspires Danny to start punishing Michelle earlier. A Book Universe Somebody Who Needs You sequel.


This story follows my Book Universe "Somebody Who Needs You," though it's figured now – after the Chronology is done – that Michelle would be watched closer and not do this.

It shows the Book Michelle's development into a nicer, more compassionate girl by the time she's 7 & 8 than in the TV universe - with the use of D.J. as more of a mother in the early years. It is a small effect that keeps snowballing. Though of course the men are still like dads D.J. is just allowed more influence, and she's more used to how a mom (Pam) brings up a girl from remembering bits about Steph. Jesse and Joey, as alluded to, are still not really ready for the part of it that involves enforcing limits, so they utilize D.J.'s talents more.

BTW, though we don't see it, the Gumby incident happened in the TV universe. Becky mentions in an episode that depressed is like the feeling Michelle had when she learned Gumby wasn't microwave safe. D.J. is keeping more of an eye on her in the TV universe when she's 3, because she knows she needs to. Whereas here in the Book Universe, paradoxically, D.J. doesn't feel as much need to keep an eye on her because Michelle does listen more, as she's more used to D.J.'s limits. Of course, D.J.'s wrong about this, but while her talents are utilized more, she's still young.

The Chronology figures that she'd be watched close, anyway, and not do it, this was written well before the Chronology was begun.

D.J. Tanner, "Frontier Mom"

"Get up."

D.J. Tanner, eleven and a half, picked her two-year-old sister, Michelle, off of her. She laid her down and tucked her in bed beside her, just as she would when getting the girl up on weekends or in the summer, which she did somewhat often. Sometimes, she had even done it during the school year. Now, of course, Michelle was getting out her crib on her own.

"It's not time to get up yet," she told her sweetly.

"I'm up."

"Well, you shouldn't be. It's only six AM." D.J. would have put her back to bed, but this was close enough to the time when others were up that she let Michelle get up then, as long as she got into one of the girls' beds. D.J. cuddled her and asked, "Hey, are you my Strawberry Shortcake?" Michelle had very strawberry blonde hair. D.J. had coined the name partly because their mother would sometimes lovingly call Stephanie, the middle of the three girls, by another doll's name. Pam Tanner would call Stephanie "Chatty Cathy" because she was so talkative.

D.J. had used that once or twice. But, even calling Stephanie, now almost seven, "Chatty Stephie" felt funny, since their mother had died a year and a half ago. She would have to settle for "nerd bomber," which D.J. had coined to tease Stephanie, but which she also said tenderly at times.

After waffling for a moment, Michelle said, "Yeah." For a short time, anyway, Michelle snuggled with D.J..

"I have to get up for school in less than an hour. But, you can lay here, and close your eyes," D.J. said tenderly. She enjoyed these moments.

When school was on, of course, the girls' Uncle Jesse or their dad's best friend Joey would be getting Michelle up. Indeed, Jesse would be doing it all the time if he was on the second floor. But, he wasn't. He lived on the third floor, and Joey lived in the basement. They were great with the girls, just like two more dads. Jesse had learned to be really sweet and caring, though he could still be macho and not show his sensitive side like their mom would. He also let Michelle manipulate him quite a bit at times. Same with Joey, who was like a kid himself at times.

The time or two Michelle had gone to her Uncle Jesse since she started climbing out of her crib on her own, he'd either gotten up and played with her right away, or done so after a puppy dog look. He was a sucker for those really sad eyes.

Meanwhile, D.J. always wanted to be the best. And, since her dad's office/den was in place of one of the bedrooms, she took it upon herself to do as much as she could without letting it take too much away from other things, like her studies or friends. And, mornings like these made up many of those special times.

Normally, Michelle would have laid and "talked" with D.J., as much as a two-year-old could do. It was really more like listening to D.J.. Sometimes, she would have closed her eyes.

Not this time, though. "Wanna get up!"

D.J.'s voice became firmer. "Michelle, I mean it. You like snuggling here with me, right?"

"No." She did, but not right then. And, to a two-year-old, that was all that mattered.

When D.J. refused to budge, Michelle looked at her with puppy dog eyes. Her face became sadder and sadder, until she realized that, once again, she could not get D.J. to give in to her pouty look.

She could give the begging look to Jesse, but D.J. was much handier, and her door was always open. Their dad, Danny Tanner, was in the shower, getting ready to go host his TV show, "Wake Up, San Francisco." And, while the men were the adults of the household, D.J. was the most handy.

Of course, D.J. wouldn't get up. Maybe I have to get her up myself, Michelle thought.

"I said, 'Get up.'" Michelle began pushing and grunting, but the only thing that did was make D.J. laugh.

Stepahnie awakened on the other side of the room. "Michelle," she said tiredly, "go back to bed. You can't move D.J.." She looked at clock and sighed. Would she be able to get back to sleep before her alarm woke her up, forty-five minutes later?

The two-year-old normally would have stopped. However, she was feeling bolder this morning, a little more desirous of being independent - even independent from the laws of physics. Michelle never threw real tantrums. She did, however, start pulling - and forgot about the edge of the bed. Had D.J. not grabbed her, she would have toppled off the bed. "Whoa," she said.

"What did I tell you?" D.J. asked.

Michelle started pushing with her feet this time. However, as she playfully did that, one of her feet accidentally impacted D.J.'s rib cage.

"Ow!" D.J. cried. She glared at Michelle, then knew she had a decision to make. One of those snap decisions a mother would have to make.

She didn't want to be a mother. Yet now, she had to decide - did she go from a glare and a "no" to using timeout, or not? Michelle was at the age where it could start being effective. Danny wouldn't do it, but maybe she should.

After a stern "no, that hurt," D.J. was up and walking over to a little table and chairs before she knew it. It was normally used for pretend tea parties. Now, she decided, it was just right for timeouts.

As D.J. lightly scolded Michelle and told her to sit there, Michelle gave D.J. a true pouty face, rather than a fake one. "I don't wanna," she whined. D.J. held her down, though, to keep her from getting up.

"I'm sorry, Michelle. But, you hurt me, so you need to sit there!"

Michelle tried to kiss it better where she'd kicked D.J.. "All better?"

D.J. smiled. "Yes, thank you. But, you still need to stay in timeout."

"What's wrong?" Danny asked as he stepped into the room in his bathrobe.

D.J. was tempted to say that Michelle kicked her. But, that sounded too much like just a big sister saying it. "Well, Dad...I put Michelle in timeout," she said after a second of thought.

"I can see that. Why would you do that?"

"Want nice D.J.," Michelle complained tearily. She wanted the D.J. she normally saw, the warm, tender one, not the one that had just yelled and made her sit in a chair.

"She bugged me to get up. And, finally, she kicked me," D.J. explained, deliberately looking away so she wouldn't be drawn in by Michelle's tears. "Since I thought you were too busy, and it would be too much of a bother to wait for the others if they weren't up, I decided I needed to enforce a timeout."

"Deej, I'm sure it was an accident," Danny said, defending the toddler. He couldn't stand to think of punishing her yet, especially not when Michelle looked this sad.

"Dad, this is around when Mom started with Steph. I know Michelle didn't mean to. But, Mom would enforce one, anyway. And, it's just how she would do it," D.J. said, her voice getting progressively lower. "She was always so nice..." She inhaled deeply and stood, as Michelle was now sitting with her head down. D.J. didn't know how to express what she wanted to say.

"Deej, Uncle Jesse and Joey are here," Danny said, putting an arm around D.J..

"But they're not Mom." D.J. sniffled. She didn't want to cry - it would make Stephanie cry, too. But, she was having trouble holding it in.

Stephanie walked over to the others. "I may as well join you. I'm not getting any more sleep tonight," Stephanie said as she sidled up to her dad, who hugged her as well.

"I know what this is. You know exactly how your mom would do things. And, you want it to be just like when she was around." Danny thought for a minute. "You know, if you do this, you have to do it every time."

"Trust me, Dad, I...if I do?"

"Deej, I'm not ready for this yet. Michelle's just a baby. I mean, I know your mom would have done what you're doing, but...look how sad she is."

"I know. Just like Steph would get." D.J. smiled and said, "Remember how Mom used to have to say, 'Remember, use your words,' Steph, before you started saying 'How rude!' instead of hitting when you were three?" Stephanie nodded sadly.

'And how she'd always tell you girls she was running out of smiles, and she needed some?"

"Yeah, Dad. And, we'd give them to her because she was the one who always gave them away, especially to us."

"That's right, Deej. I miss your mom just as much. And, I guess it's good to see a little bit of her love, her patience, showing in you. Thirty more seconds, that's it. She's too young for it to be any longer."

"Okay, Dad." Danny told Michelle that D.J. was right this time, and she had to sit there till D.J. said. She looked at her clock, then when the time was up, made sure Michelle knew why she'd been punished.

"Hurting bad."

"That's right. I love you." As she, Stephanie, and Michelle cuddled together, D.J. considered that this incicdent never would have happened if Michelle consistently went to Uncle Jesse or Joey. They would have been even more reluctant than Danny to set limits, and it wouldn't have even gotten to the point where Michelle tried to get them up herself. But, now, it had. And, Michelle had firm limits. At least, with D.J. around she would. "You're still my Strawberry Shortcake," she added as they rested in D.J.'s bed.

"This the nice D.J.," Michelle thought aloud.

Stephanie, even though she'd been awakened only moments earlier, was a bundle of energy. She had her comb out and had pushed another chair up near D.J.'s bed. "Hey, Michelle. Want me to do your hair?"

"Ponytail," Michelle commanded. Though Steph already had begun - she loved playing hairdresser, among other things - D.J. elicited a "p'ease" from the toddler. She might not have normally. But, this was one of those times when she just felt a little more like a mother.

After school that day, Danny asked D.J. if she had time to talk with him about that morning. They sat on the living room couch, and Danny propped an arm behind D.J..

"Look, Deej, I've been giving it some thought. And, I talked to Becky about it. I think you did the right thing." Becky was Danny's co-host; a woman about whom Jesse was crazy.

"Thanks, Dad. It was hard. But, it helped that I did just like Mom would."

"I also talked it over with Uncle Jesse and Joey. We'll all support you on this, and try to make her sit down and cool off for a second ourselves," Danny said, careful not to use the word "punish." He was nowhere near ready yet to punish Michelle. And, considering that Jesse's dad used to scream all the time, he knew Jesse wouldn't be enthused about enforcing limits, either. Joey, meanwhile, was just a big kid at heart hismelf at times. He'd just recently started enforcing limits with the older girls. It was doubtful any of the men would even use timeout as a "cooling off period," let alone as punishment.

"But, Deej, for right now, it's just a couple minutes in a chair. When she gets closer to three, we'll move that closer to her room, and finally have it be in her room. And, for right now, jsut work on one behavior at a time; well, this and freezing, which she's good at when someone says 'Freeze,' anyway. She really is a good kid, Deej."

"I know, Dad. So was Steph. It's just that...well...it's just something Moms do."

"I know. I remember when you stayed home from something important because the rest of us had chicken pox, so I could go to a game. Honey, I have kept being so proud of you with her. I know you can do this. And, I know you won't hit." D.J. agreed that she couldn't do that, especially not yet, and Danny embraced her before going on one of his world class rambles. "I know. Your mom and I both knew we'd never need to do that with any of you girls. And, if you promise not to tell Steph and Michelle, I can tell you I wouldn't let anyone watch you who would hit. That's something only for sitters to know. But, I just think you deserve to know, because, well, I want to make sure you understand that's something I'd want to approve before it was done, to make sure it was gentle. And, even then, I'm sure it'll never have to be done. She'll learn right from wrong very easily, so by the time she's old enough to drive...and, I'd like to be the one to teach her to drive..."

D.J. held up a hand. "Dad, please. I just put her in her first timeout. She won't be driving for a while." Inside, she wondered if her mom had faced monologues like this at times when they discussed the future and how to raise the girls.

"Oh, right. Sorry. You know, Deej, I guess I'm just a little anxious about all this. You're growing up so fast. I mean, I asked Uncle Jesse and Joey to move in specifically to help raise you girls. I never expected you to do anything. Though, I guess it makes sense you'd do a little more. And, I'm really glad you can do some things. We need all the help we can get when things happen like Mom's accident."

"I know, Dad."

Over a year later, D.J. was reading an essay that she'd written for her seventh grade English class.

"...And that is why, if I could pick one historical period, I'd want to live out on the American frontier, around a hundred years ago. Besides, being without a mom for almost three years now, while I don't do quite as much as one of them, I'm in a role similar to the eldest daughter in such a family with my youngest sister, Michelle."

The youngsters in the classroom applauded. "Excellent work, D.J.," Mr. Vrsan encouraged her as the bell rang. "I imagine your situation is somewhat like a girl would face back then."

"Thank you, Sir." D.J. packed up her books, and met her best friend, Kimmy Gibbler, in the hall.

"Boy, people sure sounded happier to hear your essay than they did mine," Kimmy remarked.

D.J. smiled politely. Kimmy could be an airhead at times, and quite bizarre. "Well, Kimmy, I think saying you wanted to live in Roman times because of how cool it would be to hang out in bath houses and try to snap your towel at the guys was...well...not quite what Mr. Vrsan was looking for."

"But I also talked about how I wouldn't mind being a gladiator," Kimmy remarked as they gathered their things at their lockers. "Maybe you were wrong. Maybe I should have included that part I wanted to about the ultimate toga party that I always wanted to host."

Kimmy was all talk when it came to boys - she would never act like the really loose girls. But, her comments made even D.J. wonder sometimes - and would definitely make others wonder. "Trust me, Kimmy, the class was better off not knowing that," D.J. told her.

D.J. arrived home from school and stepped into the kitchen. She used the door, as the gaping hole that had been there was gone now. She saw her now eight-year-old sister, Stephanie, listening to a tape on her walkman. "Hey, Steph."

Stephanie saw D.J., and turned off the walkman and removed her earphones. "Hey, D.J.. Dad said he might give me one day off for good behavior, if I'm extra good. Just so I could attend my last rehearsal before the dance recital." Stephanie had put the once gaping hole in the kitchen when she backed Joey's car into the kitchen. "I'm going over the moves in my head."

"Good."

"My instructor gave me a tape, even though I told her I was grounded with a capital 'G.' Then, I said, really, all the letters are capitalized. And there are about a thousand exclamation points at the end," she finished dejectedly.

"Well, let's hope you get that time off for good behavior. I know, it's a real bummer, huh?" Michelle, three and a half, came running into the kitchen and pulled a stool up to the microwave. "Well, at least you'll get an allowance again when you're nine or so...Michelle, what are you doing?"

"Uncle Jesse showed me how to press play," Michelle said.

"You mean start," D.J. said, snapping Michelle's hands away as one finger was right on the "start" button. "First, we never turn that on unless there's something in there. Second, that's not a toy. You should never use that unless someone tells you exactly what to do! And if you don't stop I'll get Steph to explain why you shouldn't. That should take about four or five hours." Stephanie had inherited and perfected their dad's gift for rambling.

Michelle sighed, and then got off the stool. D.J.'s voice had been her "I mean it" voice. The kind that said if she disobeyed, Michelle would be sent to her room quite fast - and, perhaps, quite loudly.

D.J. smiled. Michelle was a good girl; generally a compliant one. She knew how to talk to young kids. She'd seen her mother enough. And, the combination of love and discipline she showed was working wonders. Sure, Michelle was wild, but not much more so than most three-year-olds. If she hadn't started enforcing limits when she had, the way the men were, she would have to be more vigilant with Michelle.

"You got it, Dude," Michelle said as she got down. That was her major weakness - she still talked like Jesse and his band buddies did.

"Michelle, what's the right way to agree?"

"Yes, D.J.," Michelle said politely. D.J. gave her a hug.

D.J. then turned to Stephanie as Michelle ran off to play. "Steph, I gave my report today. I coudln't believe how much I've done that's just like a frontier girl might have. People just naturally assumed the oldest child would take on some of the responsibilities of a mother or father. Boys would even have to quit school at my age."

"I wish I'd been born a hundred years ago." Why did she wish that? "Because back then, they didn't have cars, and I couldn't have backed one into the kitchen," Stephanie said dejectedly.

"Well, come on up, Steph. You can show me some of those dance steps. And, if you don't get to do it at your recital, maybe when Dad hosts the station's first telethon, you can dance on TV," D.J. said to lift her spirits. Stephanie was very hard on herself, especially after doing something bad. While it had been a week since the car incident, she knew Stephanie still needed some encouragement. She got it from everyone, but D.J. knew it ws important to hear it from her, too.

"I'm sure Michelle will listen to what I told her. I don't need to worry about her," D.J. finished. Indeed, if she hadn't been setting limits for so long, she would have gone to check on Michelle.

As it turned out, Michelle was in Joey's basement apartment while Joey and Uncle Jesse were engrossed in producing a commercial. They said they were quite busy, though, and needed quiet. So, she went back to the kitchen with her Gumby. She noticed D.J. and Stephanie just going upstairs.

She placed her Gumby in the refrigerator as she got a little carton of milk out that had been opened. She finished it, threw the carton away, then forgot about Gumby. She went upstairs to watch D.J. and Stephanie, then came back down. All she'd done was watch Stephanie dance. Boring!

Michelle went downstairs, and looked at the microwave. Then, she thought of D.J.'s admonition. D.J. wasn't actually the boss, but sometimes it seemed like she was. She was definitely to be listened to - Michelle much preferred the nice D.J. to the mad one. She let the microwave go for now.

The next day, Michelle was enjoying "singing" and playing along with Jesse and his band. While the band was taking a break, she commanded excitedly, "Let's sing the ABC's!"

"Do we have sheet music for that?" one of Jesse's band members joked. The members were used to playing with the little girl around, and to tailoring their humor to her level. The band was never raunchy, but they made sure to focus on entertaining her when they were rehearsing and Jesse had to be watching her, after preschool.

"Just use the music from 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' - one of the writers musta ripped off the other," Jesse teased. They were actually the same tune, it seemed to Jesse - both by Mozart.

"You got it, Dude."

"That's not polite," Michelle said, reiterating something she'd heard D.J. say numerous times when she'd call her "dude" - especially if D.J. was correcting her.

"Hey, chill out, munchkin. We're tryin' to get your music for you," Jesse said, using his pet name for Michelle. He turned back to the band. "Okay, ready?"

The drummer decided to have a little fun teasing the others before he started. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me make sure I have this right - is this by the same guy who wrote the Brahm's lullaby?"

"No, it's by Mozart," another member said.

"Okay, gotcha. Who wrote the Brahms lullaby?" The other members laughed.

"Brahms, of course. Duh."

Michelle shook her finger at the member who had said, "duh." "D.J. says it's mean to say 'duh.'"

"D.J.?" the drummer asked.

"Yeah, you know, my oldest niece." A look of recognition came over the man, as he was so used to helping Jesse babysit Michelle he'd forgotten about the others.

Jesse turned to Michelle and said, "Look, this is just the way we talk, okay?"

"When I say it she makes me talk nice," Michelle explained.

"Well, don't say it around her." Jesse turned back to his music, and they began playing the ABC's.

Michelle hummed. She hadn't thought of that. She didn't want to make D.J. mad. But, maybe she would try that, if the opportunity came. She still said it a little otherwise, anyway, and didn't get corrected.

Michelle had been looking for her Gumby off and on for a couple days. Finally, she opened the refrigerator one day, as she was bored. D.J. and Stephanie were studying, Jesse and Joey were in their basement recording studio, and her dad was in the den going over stuff for his TV show.

Gumby had been pushed behind a casserole placed in the refrigerator right after Michelle had put him in there. "Whoa, you're cold," Michelle told her Gumby figure. "Let me warm you up." She put it in the microwave, and pressed one of the side buttons - she thought it was "quick minute" or something, from what Uncle Jesse had said. That wouldn't be a problem. D.J. had said not to. But, D.J. wasn't around.

As she got off the stool, she heard some sort of popping noise. How could that be - there was no popcorn in there. Suddenly the microwave started smoking on the inside and the outside. Michelle covered her ears as the smoke alarm went off. Finally, a huge "bang" was heard, as fuses blew all over the house.

Michelle scurried under the kitchen table as fast as she could. The dog, Comet, joined her. "I'm in BIG trouble, Mister," she said to him.

As Danny scrambled from his office and the older girls rushed downstairs, Jesse and Joey stumbled all over each other trying to get upstairs in the suddenly pitch black basement. Danny quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher in the darkened room, now lit only with daylight, and sprayed the microwave thoroughly. "What happened?" he asked while coughing.

"I don't know. Are you all right, Michelle?" D.J. asked, seeing her cowering under the table.

Danny suddenly looked at the scared, worried face under the table. "Oh, poor Michelle, that really scared you, huh?" Danny asked as he picked her up.

Michelle nodded slowly, her lower lip quivering - she still expected a very loud, very long lecture. "Is Gumby okay?"

"Gumby?" Danny asked as Stephanie looked inside the now sprayed down microwave. A massive, formless green goo had formed all over. "Ewww, gross."

"What happened?" Joey asked in a huff as the men came upstairs.

Stephanie turned to him. "Joey, think of your car in the kitchen, but in a much smaller space."

"Oh, man, what a mess. The microwave's probably ruined now," Jesse said as he inspected the mass of green. "Along with a lot of other electrical stuff, I bet."

"I think it blew every fuse in this house," Joey added.

Danny was still in shock over the small scale disaster on the counter. But, he could tell Michelle was frightened, too. So, he tried to keep from shouting, even though the neat freak hated messes of any kind. And, this was a mess, as Stephanie said, similar to her mess, but on a smaller scale. "Well, we had to remodel part of the kitchen. We may as well remodel a little more. How did it..." As Stephanie and D.J. glared at Michelle, the realization dawned on him. Michelle had said something about Gumby.

"Michelle, did you put your Gumby in there and turn the microwave on?!" D.J. hollered. Michelle nodded slowly, tears inching down her cheeks. "Michelle Tanner, I told you that that is not a toy!"

Danny spoke hesitantly. "Deej...you can tell she already feels really bad about this whole thing..."

"That's right, just like when I put the car into the kitchen," Stephanie agreed. She turned to Michelle and placed her hands on her hips. She avoided shouting, because she knew she'd done something just as bad recently. But, she still spoke firmly to Michelle.

While Stephanie was lecturing, D.J. motioned Danny over for a conference. Danny sat Michelle down on the kitchen table and walked over to the wall. "Yes, what is it, Deej?"

"Dad, you know how you say you're not comfortable punishing Michelle? Well, now would be a good time to start. I mean, she's already remorseful. You can't make her any sadder. Besides, you know I'll really yell a lot if you don't. Of course, I'll still yell if you do. But, not as much, since you're our dad."

Danny chuckled. "You really take after me. Now you're starting to talk on and on like I do, too." He shuffled his feet momentarily and said, "Well, I mean, she knows she did something wrong..."

Stephanie, meanwhile, continued to talk. "I'm sure you'll be grounded for life now, Michelle. You probably won't get an allowance ever. I mean, to think Daddy wouldn't punish you after this. How rude!"

"You're right, Steph. It would be very rude not to punish her after the incredible mess she made...What am I saying, I'm the one who decides to or not." He sighed, and then walked over to Michelle. "Girls, will you leave us alone a moment. I need to talk with Michelle about her punishment." They left. Danny tried hard not to call it Michelle's first punishment, because he'd been supporting D.J..

"Michelle, first of all, I want you to know that I love you very much. You know," he continued, lovingly but firmly, "I've supported D.J. enough you might not consider this your first punishment. I mean, I let things go sometimes, and she didn't send you to your room while I was around, but your Uncle Jesse, Joey, D.J. and I, we were a team. Because, I wasn't ready to take on my full responsibility."

"Aren't you going to yell at me?" Michelle asked.

"I'm getting to that. We will definitely have a very long talk. And, I'll do almost al the talking, and you will listen. Plus, you will go to your room and stay there till I come get you. Also, you will have no TV or dessert for three days, at least." He took a deep breath, and smiled. "But, Michelle, all of this lecturing and punishment will be because I love you very much. And, I am going to start enforcing the rules consistently from now on. Because you are a big girl. And, you are expected to listen, and you will be treated like one."

"Yes, Daddy," Michelle said, sniffling as he carried her off to her room.

D.J. tried to turn the TV on after a couple minutes - nothing. "Look at this! The TV won't even work! I don't believe this. I mean, she's ruined a perfectly good evening of sitting around and complaining that there's nothing good on TV."

Stephanie nodded. "You're right. Well, at least we can go listen to Dad reading Michelle the riot act."

"Yeah. Maybe I should go up and help. After all, I'm sort of passing the torch on to him."

Once they got up there, though, they found Danny leaving Michelle room already. "Dad, that was the fastest lecture I've ever heard of for something like this," D.J. said. "You take longer to brush your teeth."

Jesse had overheard on the way up to his attic apartment, and quipped, "He takes longer to talk about brushing his teeth."

"Girls, look, I know you would really read her the riot act. But, I prefer to just read a tiny business card or something. I mean, I really talked about the mess and everything. And, I promised we'd talk more later, when she comes down; which we will But, she's only three years old."

"Plus, you're still letting me handle some things, aren't you?" D.J. asked.

"Well..." Danny sighed. He wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't know the answer himself, for sure. But, "Deej, I am enforcing the limits. Look, it's taken me this long to even send her to her room. And, she understands - she's not trying to come out like she might have if you hadn't been so consisent."

"Dad, we won't be able to watch TV or anything to do with electricity," Stephanie complained. Wait a minute - I'm grounded from TV yet anyway."

"Since when do we need electricity to have a good time? We've got lots of games. We can sit around and talk and laugh. Girls, don't think of this as something bad. Think of this as...going back to the pioneer days. Like you talked about in your report," Danny said to D.J..

"Okay, but it might be three days till we get a new TV. She has to be away from it for about a week," D.J. opined.

"Well...for a three-year-old...okay. A week is the outer limit," Danny agreed hesitantly. "They see tme differently at this age. But, I suppose she can handle that. I'll make a note of that."

"And dessert, too. A week without dessert," Stephanie suggested.

"Well...okay, I guess a child her age can't really be grounded, since there's nothing coming up right away that she's been looking forward to. Now, if there was some party tomorrow that she knew was coming, and I said no to..." Danny caught himself rambling and smiled. "You know what? You girls are so like your mother. I mean it. Your mom was always the one disicplining and stuff till you were five or so. And, I guess I really was looking to follow her lead with Michelle. I figured Jesse and Joey would be the best parents. And, they have been. But, you girls have done a great job in your roles."

A short time later, D.J. walked in with Danny when he let Michelle out of her punishment. Michelle looked at D.J. with puppy dog eyes and asked, "Are you going to yell at me now?"

"You bet I am!" D.J. was furious. She'd found that not only weren't any TVs working, her old computer - the one which seemed too obsolete to be a problem if it broke down - also wasn't working. Her CD player, and a bunch of other things weren't functioning. It was like they'd been sent back in time 100 years. She told Michelle all of this, as big tears streamed down the little girl's face.

D.J. figured if her mom were around, it might be D.J., and not the over-excitable Stephanie, whom she reminded to use her words at that moment. Of course, D.J. always used her words - she remained in control of herself. But, she knew to Michelle, she probably looked like a big ogre. As she picked Michelle up and hugged her, telling her she loved her after the loud lecture, D.J.'s mind was mostly on the big mess that had been caused.

Meanwhile, Michelle's mind was on the incredibly noisy reaction that had come because she'd hadn't listened when D.J. instructed her not to play witht he microwave. And, she became very timid around D.J., sensing the anger was still there

Kimmy said, "Hola, Tanneritos," as she walked in the door a short time later, before noticing that thee were no lights, the TV was off, and everyone was using battery powered lanterns. "Whoa, there must have been some power eating UFO over this place. I thought I saw some strnge things go by last night. They went really fast, too."

"They happened to be shooting stars. And wherever they went, Kimmy, they probably took your brain," Stephanie teased. She didn't like Kimmy - to her, Kimmy not only was really dumb and annoying, she took time away Steph could be spending with D.J..

"Hey, watch it, squirt. I'll have you know I know a shooting star can't do that. I know exactly what shooting stars are. I tried to do a paper on them in school." Kimmy thought for a moment. "Well, actaully, I wanted to do one on Hollywood scnadals for history, and I looked up 'shooting stars' thinking it might give some good gossip. But, I did find out about them."

D.J. gave a look that seemed to be pleading for strength to deal with her friend right now, as well as with Michelle. "Well, we had a little accident with the microwave, and it just caused a power surge that knocked everything out."

"Yeah, we're going to need to replace or repair almost everything. TV's, CD players...boy, I'm glad my vacuum cleaner wasn't plugged in." Danny vaccumed the stairs every day.

"Wow. What a headline. 'Microwave Declares War on Local Family. Is Your Home Safe From Rebel Appliances?'" Kimmy nodded sharply. "I better make sure my mom's curling iron isn't plotting to tear her hair out."

D.J. smiled politely. "We'll talk later about it, right now we have a lot of things to do, like making sure all our food gets eaten in the fridge," D.J. remarked, trying to make mental notes on how much could be consumed. How would they ever eat it all?

"That's right, Kimmy, if your family can store some we'd really appreciate it," Danny said. He always seemed to have total control of any situation. He'd already planned to ask for refrigerstor and freezer space from Kimmy and several others.

"Sure thinng, Mr. T.. I'll just tell my mom to make sure Uncle Henry doesn't bring the cow brains over till next week. And, we'll heat up our gazpacho soup tonight." Jesse and Danny, being good cooks, knew that gazpacho soup was supposed to be served cold, and looked oddly at Kimmy. The others made grossed-out faces at the thought of cow brains.

Once Kimmy left with some of the Tanners' food, Joey and Michelle came upstairs from Joey's place. Michelle saw the food being taken away. Upon hearing that the refrigerator had shorted out and the contents would go bad, Michelle lowered her head. "Are we gonna be able to eat again?"

"Aw, Michelle." Danny went over and picked her up before snuggling with her on the couch. "Don't worry. It's all right. We just have to replace a bunch of fuses and light bulbs, get some repairmen over here, buy some new TVs and a few other things, like, well..." He rattled off a list of things that likely were messed up by the big surge. D.J. and Steph seemed to be getting more upset again as he did so. Finally, he stopped, saying, "That's all," trying to make things sound like they weren't too bad.

"That's a lot," Michelle complained sadly.

Joey told the family, "I tried to play with her, but she spent the time off and on just moping and saying she was a bad girl. Just that like first day of preschool, when she let the bird loose and it flew away."

"Well, a whole lot more stuff went away this time," D.J. declared bitterly. "You pretty much broke the house, just like Steph." She turned to Stephanie and apologized.

"That's okay. At least I'm not the only one now," she remarked.

Michelle looked up at D.J. with just her eyeballs. "Am I still your little Strawberry Shortcake?" She needed to hear it again. She couldn't believe all the stuff that wasn't working.

D.J. sat beside her and put an arm around her. It bothered her that Michelle shrank from her a little. "Oh, of course, you are. I will always love you. I'm just really mad at you, that's all. It'll get better though," D.J. promised.

Becky showed up after dinner to see Jesse. After they exchanged a warm, tender kiss, she looked at the living room. "Wow, looks like D.J.'s report about living a hundred years ago came to life."

Danny looked up from a game of 'Go Fish' he was playing with Stephanie, Michelle, and Joey. "I know. I'd just hate to be the family whose kid wrote about living through the Battle of Britain in London," Danny deadpanned.

"Jesse told me what happened." Knowing Michelle had caused it, Becky didn't want to say how bad it looked to see all the electricity off.

"Oh, that's okay. We're having fun. Right, guys?" Stephanie and Michelle nodded vigorously. D.J., meanwhile, gave a sullen "yeah." "Well, come on, Michelle. It's time for your bath." He carried Michelle upstairs.

"How come you aren't playing with them, D.J.?"

D.J. looked at Becky. "I don't know. I guess I was really sad because Michelle kept cringing a little bit this afternoon when I'd go near her. I guess I was afraid she'd still be doing that, like I was going to scream at her some more."

Becky motioned for D.J. to sit on the couch with her. "Deej, one of the hardest things for a mom is to be firm sometimes. But, while being yelled at like you did is a real shock, kids learn their lesson and get over it really fast."

"They do?" When Becky nodded, D.J. sighed. "I guess I never really thought about it. I mean, our mom never had to go through anything like this - we never did anything that bad. And Steph - well, Dad didn't yell and scream near as much as he could have when she wrecked Joey's car."

"But she was still scared. Deej, when Steph showed up at my door, she couldn't even get the words out about what she'd done. I just knew she thought she could never go home again. Thankfully, your uncle and I were able to get her to talk and then to go home and confess."

D.J. was a little concerned now. "Do you think I overdid it, Becky? I mean, Steph didn't need that much of a lecture. And, I was really upset."

"Well, Michelle's not as excitable as Steph. But, she also needed to learn that that was very bad. Stephanie had five years more experience on her. She didn't know all about insurance or anything like that. But, she could grasp easier than Michelle how long it takes to build something. I don't know if you lectured too much. But, the important thing is, I don't think you traumatized her. Michelle knows you still love her."

"You're probably right, Becky." D.J. breathed deeply.

Becky smiled and stroked D.J.'s hair. "Trust me. It'll work out. Because kids live very much in the present. And, Michelle knows you're usually really nice. She'll figure you still will be."

"Thanks." They embraced. "I guess I need to go fishing over there a little bit to take my mind off this, huh?"

"Go for it, Deej. Electricity gives us lots of fun things. But, remember what your report was all about. Those people back then knew what was really important."

Once Michelle's bath was over, she and Danny came down to see D.J. and Stephanie finishing the last of the orange juice. Michelle sat beside D.J. and automatically leaned her head against D.j.'s side. Stephanie rose to get a board game.

"Hey, Michelle." D.J. put an arm around her. "Are you all ready for bed?" Michelle nodded.

Becky and Jesse came from talking upstairs in his third floor apartment several minutes later. "Shhh. Everybody, look," Becky said. She pointed to Michelle, who lay sleeping on D.J.'s lap. D.J. was gently stroking the little girl's hair.

"I've got to get my battery operated videocamera," Danny said as he left the board game he was playing with Stephanie and Joey.

Becky sat next to D.J., and whispered as D.J. smiled down upon her sleepy little sister. "Deej, my mom says that one of the sweetest memories a mother has is cradling a sleepy little head on her lap, and watching that child fall asleep."

"I know the feeling," D.J. said as Danny began recording. "I'm sure it's nothing like a mom would feel. And yet, there's a little piece of me..." She didn't know how to explain it.

"Deej, that's maternal instinct. Guys can be really good; your dad's one of the best at loving, comforting, and so on. But that instinct is something special that every mom from Eve on down has had. It's so hard to believe they can drive you so crazy during the day, my mom says. But, times like this are when you see the bond there, no matter what."

Michelle awakened and gazed sleepily up at D.J. and said, "I love you D.I.."

"I love you too, Michelle."


End file.
